The Friday Night Rumor Mill–January 6, 2006

Some members of the Yankee organization are pushing GM Brian Cashman to sign free agent catcher Bengie Molina and make him part of a time-sharing plan with Jorge Posada behind the plate. At one time considered one of the jewels of this year’s free agent market, Molina has seen his bargaining power plummet after the Angels decided not to offer him a contract and the Mets filled their catching needs by making a trade for Paul LoDuca. Originally seeking a three-year contract in the $25 million range, Molina would now settle for a one to two-year deal at about $6 million per year. That’s a bargain for Molina, who had his best offensive season in 2005 and is still regarded as a fine defensive catcher despite showing some wear and tear during the regular season… How would Molina fit in with the Yankees? He would start against all left-handers and some right-handers, freeing up the defensively challenged Posada to log some time as a first baseman and DH. The Yankees are concerned about the decline in the all-round performance of the 34-year-old Posada and are worried that he may not be able to play at a high level if forced to catch 120 to 130 times this season… Cashman is said to be resistant toward signing Molina, in part because of the negative effect it might have on Posada, who is popular in the Yankee clubhouse. Cashman would be smart to pay more attention to Posada’s fading skills, which have translated into fewer walks, more strikeouts, and fewer home runs…

The Orioles are engaged in serious trade talks with the Cubs about their former No. 1 center fielder Corey Patterson. This is yet another sign that the Orioles are disenchanted with Luis Matos in center field; earlier this winter, the O’s made a bid for free agent Johnny Damon, who spurned them to sign with the Yankees. In exchange, the Orioles would surrender a second-tier prospect to the Cubs, who have no intent on keeping Patterson despite tendering him a contract in December. If they can make a deal, the Orioles would either platoon the left-handed-hitting Patterson with Matos, or make him the everyday center fielder, thereby rendering Matos trade bait…

A Patterson trade will probably happen a lot more quickly than a blockbuster deal involving Miguel Tejada. Forget about all that talk of a four-team deal taking place; it’s hard enough to trade superstars nowadays when only two teams are involved. The Orioles have already rejected the Red Sox’ offer of Manny Ramirez and Matt Clement; the non-contending O’s have little interest in a middle-aged star like Ramirez and would prefer someone younger with a better attitude. Unless the Red Sox can make Ramirez more appetizing to the Orioles, they have little chance of getting a Tejada deal done… Like a potential deal between the Orioles and Red Sox, the possibility of a swap between the Orioles and Cubs involving Tejada has also cooled. The Cubs won’t give up Mark Prior for Tejada, but might have interest in putting together a package featuring top outfield prospect Felix Pie. A package of Pie and pitching prospect Rich Hill could be tough for the Orioles to turn down… The Phillies are one team that could get involved in the Tejada sweepstakes, assuming they’re willing to move both Jimmy Rollins and Bobby Abreu. A trade of Tejada and Jay Gibbons for Rollins and Abreu might make sense for both teams…